Mike McDaniel won’t be the Browns’ next head coach, as McDaniel withdrew from the search on Tuesday. But the Browns are getting closer to hiring a replacement for Kevin Stefanski.
Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter will interview with the Browns on Thursday, Albert Breer of MMQB reports, with Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski interviewing on Friday.
The Browns talked with their own defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz, on Monday and Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken on Tuesday.
Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase also remains in the mix in Cleveland.
The Jaguars’ recent home playoff loss to the Bills had an official attendance of 70,250. If the Jaguars host a playoff game next season, there will be far fewer fans present — and not because the team will have reverted to the days of tarps on the upper deck.
Via Garry Smits of the Florida Times-Union, $1.4 billion in upgrades to EverBank Stadium will limit capacity in 2026 to 43,000 fans.
Only the lower bowl at the stadium will be open. And, as Smits explains it, the cabanas and the pool in the stadium likely will be closed for all of 2026, too.
The ongoing work will require the Jaguars to play elsewhere in 2027, with Orlando’s Camping World Stadium the likely (but not yet official) location.
And so the Jaguars won’t return to a complete home-field advantage until 2028, when the fully-renovated Everbank Stadium opens its doors.
Until the next time it’s renovated, that is.
The Ravens will add another head coaching candidate to the list on Monday.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile will interview with the team. He is the 16th candidate to meet with the team since they fired John Harbaugh earlier this month.
Campanile has also interviewed for the Dolphins’ head coaching job. He just completed his first season running the defense in Jacksonville and has also worked for the Packers and Dolphins during his time as an NFL assistant.
Ravens General Manager Eric DeCosta said he expected to meet with around 16 coaches in the team’s first round of interviews, so the search process may be moving into its next stage in the near future.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had a disastrous day in New England, with four first-half interceptions in a 28-16 loss. But he wasn’t the first quarterback to have that stat line through two quarters of a postseason game.
In 2022, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence had four interceptions in the first half of a wild-card game against the Chargers. The Jaguars came back to win the game.
Stroud and Lawrence are the only two quarterbacks with four first-half interceptions in a playoff game since 2000.
Lawrence was the first to throw four interceptions in the first half of a postseason game since Lions quarterback Gary Danielson in the 1982 playoffs against Washington.
Others have had rough days in the postseason. In the 2015 postseason, Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer had four interceptions and two lost fumbles in a playoff loss to the Panthers. In the 2011 playoffs, Packers quarterback Brett Favre threw six interceptions in a blowout loss to the Rams.
And in Super Bowl XIII, Broncos quarterback Craig Morton had four first-half interceptions against the Cowboys.
For Stroud, who had three turnovers in a wild-card win over the Steelers, his most recent two games put a cloud over the Texans’ offseason. He’ll have plenty of pressure on him in 2026, unless the Texans sign him to an extension in the offseason.
The Browns are moving into their second round of interviews with head coaching candidates and the list is up to six names.
According to multiple reports, the Browns are set to interview former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, and Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski a second time. Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken are also on the list.
Scheelhaase’s second interview will have to wait at least a week if the Rams beat the Bears on Sunday as coaches for teams in the conference title game are not eligible to interview until after that game has been played. He interviewed with several teams this weekend.
McDaniel is set to interview with the Raiders on Monday and he’s also in the mix for offensive coordinator opportunities. Minter has interviewed with most of the teams that made head coaching changes while Udinski’s only interview thus far has been with Cleveland.
